The owner of a closed home health care company was charged by indictment Wednesday in the Eastern District of Michigan with embezzlement of government property linked to CARES Act relief funds.
Amina Abbas, owner of 1 on 1 Home Health, is the first American to be charged for intentional misuse of the CARES funds, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
The purpose of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Justice press release explained.
Abbas received approximately $37,656.95 and misappropriated the funds by issuing checks to her family members for personal use.
Amina Abbas was charged with an indictment for misappropriating CARE Act funds for personal use. (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)
Abbas closed her company in early 2020 after Medicare issued an overpayment demand of $1,619,967.08 for fraudulent claims that she submitted for patients who did not qualify for home health services, reported FOX 2 Detroit. The company has not been operational for months and did not qualify for any CARES funds. (RELATED: ‘The Government Is Not Structured To Do Health Care,’ Says President Of Ayn Rand Institute)
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case and Emily Gurskis, trial attorney of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, is prosecuting.